Applause: Apollo and Marsyas

The contest between Apollo and Marsyas,
National Archaeological Museum, Athens, 215. 330-20 BCE.

  So Midas announced a music competition.  The audience gathered in the forest.  People leant against trees and rocks, waiting for the concert to begin.

  Apollo appeared and the crowd fell silent.  His lyre rang out, tinkling and glittering.  The sound rippled across the glade, spreading like sunshine.  The listeners felt warm, as if golden light had filled their hearts.

  The crowd rose to their feet, cheering.

  Then Marsyas played his flute and a low sound, like gentle wind, echoed through the forest.  The sound seemed to lift the listeners into the air.  The notes rose higher, and the listeners felt as if they were flying!  Then with tumbling notes, Marsyas brought the listeners back down to earth.

  The crowd were silent.  They did not clap, or cheer.  They did not even smile.  Marsyas was sure that nobody liked his music.

  Midas addressed the crowd.  "I think you'll all agree who the winner is!"

  Apollo grinned, and Marsyas hung his furry head.

  "His music moved us so much, we could not clap or smile. Marsyas is the best musician of all!"

  Now the crowd cheered!  They stamped, shouted and roared for more until Marsyas played again.  After that Marsyas became famous.  He played his flute all over Greece inspiring people to make their own flutes from bones, wood and reeds.

- From Greek Myths: Stories of Sun, Stone and Sea by Sally Pomme Clayton (Author), Jane Ray (Illustrator).

I have occasionally heard applause mid-milonga at the end of a track or tanda. It has never been at an ordinary milonga though, always at a special event where the audience - I mean dancers -  evidently feels moved to demonstrate particular appreciation.  And yet each time for me it has felt  strange and unwarranted.

Applause at the end of a milonga is altogether different. Here in the UK at least it is a customary thanks to the DJ.

Thanks to Sally Pomme Clayton for permission to quote this passage.
Image 'Apollo and Marsyas' from the Ancient History Encylopedia licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0